Born in Moscow. In 1974, he completed his studies at the State Music-Pedagogical Institute - today The Russian Gnesin Academy of Music - (Evgeny Ivanov‘s class).
From 1974-91, he was a soloist with Moscow‘s Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre.
In 1989, Boris Godunov in his interpretation was acclaimed as the best opera role of the year.
Since 1991, Vladimir Matorin has been teaching at the Russian Academy of Theatre Art where, in 1994, he was made Professor and head of the faculty of solo singing.
Matorin joined the Bolshoi Theatre Opera Company, as soloist, in 1991.

Repertoire

His Bolshoi Theatre repertoire includes the following, among other, roles:
Prince Yuri (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov‘s The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maid Fevronia)
King Rene (Iolanta)
Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia)
Title role (Boris Godunov)
Title role (Mikhail Glinka‘s Life for a Tsar/Ivan Susanin)
Gremin (Eugene Onegin)
Galitsky, Konchak (Igor Borodin‘s Prince Igor)
The Old Gypsy (Sergei Rachmaninov‘s Aleko)
Tsar Dodon (Rimsky-Korsakov‘s The Golden Cockerel)
Dosifey, Ivan Khovansky (Khovanshchina)
Ramfis (Aida)
King of Clubs (Sergei Prokofiev‘s The Love of the Three Oranges)
Miller (Alexander Dargomyzhsky‘s Rusalka).
In all, Vladimir Matorin has over sixty roles in his repertoire.

Tours

He has sung at the world‘s leading opera-houses, and has been on tour to England, Italy, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Greece, Estonia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, China, Japan, USA, Mongolia, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Cyprus.
In 1993, he took part in the Wexford Festival (Ireland) in a production of Pyotr Tchaikovsky‘s The Slippers. In the same year, he sang the title role in Boris Godunov at Le Grand Theatre de Geneve.
In 1994, he sang the part of the Head in Rimsky-Korsakov‘s May Night at the Cologne Philharmonic and he sang the title role in Boris Godunov at Chicago‘s Lyric Theatre.
In 1995, he sang the part of the Head (May Night) at the Wexford Festival (conductor Vladimir Yurovsky).
In 1996, he sang Dosifey (Khovanshchina) at Opera Nantes, the title role (Boris Godunov) at the National Theatre in Prague and Pimen (Boris Godunov) at Opera Montpelier (France).
In 1997, he sang the title role (Boris Godunov) at the Grand Opera, Huston (Texas).
In 1998, he took part in a concert performance of Tchaikovsky‘s The Sorceress at London‘s Festival Hall (Royal Opera, conductor Valery Gergiev), appeared as Mendoza in Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery at Le Grand Theatre de Geneve, and as Burya-bogatyr at a concert performance of Rimsky-Korsakov‘s Kashchey the Immortal, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Festival Hall (conductor Alexander Lazarev).
In 1999, he sang Tsar Dodon (The Golden Cockerel) in a Royal Opera production at London‘s Sadlers Wells (conductor Gennadi Rozhdestvensky).
In 2001, he sang Mendoza (Prokofiev‘s Betrothal in a Monastery) for L’Opera National de Lyon (conductor Oleg Gaetani). In 2002, he sang Pimen (Boris Godunov) at Paris National Opera (Music director and conductor James Conlon, director Francesca Zambello), and the title role in Boris Godunov at L‘Opera National de Lyon (conductor Ivan Fischer, director Philip Himmelman, a co-production with Manheim‘s National Theatre).
In 2003, he sang the title role in Boris Godunov in theatres in Auckland and Wellington (New Zealand) and the part of Varlaam in the same opera at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden (production Andrei Tarkovsky, conductor Semyon Bychkov).
In 2004, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Pimen (conductor Semyon Bychkov), and he sang Pimen and Varlaam (Boris Godunov) at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona.
In 2005, he sang Varlaam (Boris Godunov) at Brussels‘ Theatre de la Monnaie, and also the parts of Tikhon Shcherbatov and Yamshchik Balaga (Prokofiev‘s War and Peace) at the Paris National Opera (conductor Vladimir Yurovsky, director Francesca Zambello).

Vladimir Matorin sings church music and gives a lot of concerts. He has appeared in solo concerts at the Bolshoi Theatre‘s Beethoven Hall, at government concerts in the Kremlin, in the Russian Embassies in Paris, London, Rome, Berlin, at the Deutsche Oper (Berlin), the French Senate. He appeared in Shostakovich‘s Symphony No. 14 in Montpelier (France) and he sang in Mussorgsky‘s vocal cycle Songs and Dances of Death, in Antwerp.

In 1973, Matorin won 2nd prize at the International Competition of Musicians and Performers, Geneva.
In 1977, he won 2nd prize at the Glinka Competition of Singers.
In 1997, he was awarded the title of People‘s Artist of the Russian Federation.
In 2001, he was a recipient of the For Services to the Fatherland order, 4th degree.